Written Answers Friday 18 March 2005

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people arrested have tested positively for alcohol since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Ambulance Service

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it supports single-manned ambulances being called out to 999 calls.

Mr Andy Kerr: Where the Scottish Ambulance Service assesses that an area should be served by an accident and emergency unit, then a double crewed unit is what should be provided. There may be circumstances where, for example, a member of staff reports sick at short notice and the service is unable to secure a relief member. In these circumstances a single-crewed unit may be used. Such cases should only arise in the most exceptional of circumstances.

  We have been monitoring the use of single-crewed responses in the North and West Division and I can advise that during February 2005 the number of emergency calls which received a single-crewed response was 16 out of 1,063 calls – a total of 1.5%.

Asylum Seekers

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-13857 by Malcolm Chisholm on 9 February 2005, how the payments received from the National Asylum Support Service were distributed in (a) 1996-97, (b) 1997-98 and (c) 1998-99.

Malcolm Chisholm: The National Asylum Support Service was not established until 1999, therefore, it is not possible to provide this information.

Child Protection

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any IT systems being piloted to develop multi-agency sharing of children’s information and whether it has consulted the Scottish Information Commissioner about any such schemes.

Peter Peacock: IT systems are being developed to allow sharing of agreed information between agencies through development of a secure integrated children’s record. The Scottish Executive is supporting pilot projects in Glasgow, Grampian, Lanarkshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

  As the systems are concerned with the sharing of personal information any data sharing issues are subject to data protection legislation. Discussions have therefore been held with the Assistant UK Information Commissioner (Scotland) as data protection issues are governed by the UK Information Commissioner.

Child Protection

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to replace local authority child protection registers with IT systems interoperable across Scotland.

Peter Peacock: No. I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-15023 on 18 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search

  While the IT systems being developed will allow sharing of information about children who are on child protection registers they are not intended as a replacement for the registers.

Child Protection

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to replace local authority child protection registers with a single IT system.

Peter Peacock: No.

Climate Change

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a step-by-step explanation or flow chart showing how expenditure decisions that are designed to achieve policy objectives but take into account the impact on climate change are reached.

Mr Tom McCabe: Sustainable development, of which climate change is a key element, has been a cross-cutting theme in the last two spending reviews. It is, therefore, central to our decisions on spending allocations. In Spending Review 2004, all portfolios had to show how they were taking this issue forward and mainstreaming it within their work, taking particular account of the sustainable development priority areas of resource use, energy and travel.

  There are also many initiatives taking place within departments. Other mechanisms by which projects and spending programmes are assessed for environmental impact include Pre-expenditure Assessments, the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and Environmental Impact Assessment. The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Bill, which will extend the scope of environmental assessment, was introduced to Parliament on 2 March.

  For further detail, I refer the member to my statement to the Environment and Rural Development Committee on 2 March.

Education

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals against (a) temporary exclusions and (b) removals from the register of schoolchildren were unsuccessful in each year since 1997.

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of appeals against (a) temporary exclusions and (b) removals from the register of school children were unsuccessful in each year since 1997.

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many appeals against (a) temporary exclusions and (b) removals from the register of school children were successful in each year since 1997.

Peter Peacock: The information is not held centrally, but is being collected from 2004-05.

Education

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current levels of staff shortages are in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools, broken down by local authority.

Peter Peacock: A set of tables, Full-time Equivalent Teacher Vacancies in Schools , which is in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32903), shows the number of teacher vacancies in local authority schools at February 2004, the latest information available. A further survey is being undertaken at February 2005 and the results are currently being collected and analysed.

Education

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many primary and secondary pupils have been enrolled in schools in each of the last five years and what the estimated number is for each of the next five years.

Peter Peacock: Details of the number of primary and secondary pupils enrolled in schools in each of the last five years are set out in the census bulletin Pupils in Scotland 2003 which can be accessed by the following link http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00350-01.asp .

  Projections of pupil numbers are set out in the publication Results of Teacher Workforce Planning for 2005-06 which can be accessed by the following link:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00401-01.asp.

Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it anticipates that the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 will come into force.

Peter Peacock: It is anticipated that the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 will be commenced in late 2005.

Emergency Services

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what research is currently on-going in relation to existing triage arrangements in accident and emergency departments, in particular regarding the safety of patients and the clinical cost effectiveness of such arrangements.

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive which hospitals are participating in research trials of streaming systems in accident and emergency departments to supplement existing triage arrangements.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive is committed to timely, safe emergency care and keeps abreast of research and improvement initiatives and their outcomes across the range of service models including triage, see and treat and streaming. As much of this improvement activity is relatively new, we are not aware of any meaningful research that specifically contrasts patient safety and clinical cost effectiveness across all of these models of care; research into a single model such as triage would, by definition, say little about the totality of approaches now being adopted to improve patient care.

Emergency Services

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans there are to introduce streaming in accident and emergency departments.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Unscheduled Care Collaborative Programme will support the implementation streaming within accident and emergency departments. It will also support the development of alternatives to hospital attendance and admission for patients with both minor injury and illness, as well as those with long-term conditions through the integrated working between primary and secondary care, thereby implementing streaming to appropriate alternative care provision.

Emergency Services

Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive what methods, other than a streaming system, are planned to supplement existing triage arrangements in accident and emergency departments.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Executive is committed to working with the NHS to reduce waiting in accident and emergency departments, to streamline care, and to improve the experience of patients. We will deliver the Executive’s target that, by the end of 2007, no-one will wait more than four hours between arriving at a unit and admission, discharge or transfer, unless there are stated clinical reasons for keeping a patient in a unit.

  We will launch the three-year national Unscheduled Care Collaborative Programme on 11 May 2005. As well as streaming the programme will also support the implementation of the principles of See and Treat, which we expect to have a significant impact on reducing waiting times in accident and emergency departments.

Employment

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding arrangements are in place to ensure that early employability programmes for vulnerable adults, such as the New Futures Fund, are continued after March 2006.

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what resources will be allocated to its employability framework.

Allan Wilson: The development of an Employability Framework for Scotland is looking at better ways of using existing resources. We aim to announce conclusions in the summer.

Employment

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Scottish Enterprise will continue to be the lead agency on the New Futures Fund initiative until March 2006.

Allan Wilson: Scottish Enterprise is undertaking a performance assessment of New Futures Fund projects in order to inform decisions to end March 2006.

European Funding

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the European Commission about regional funding in the 2007-13 funding period.

Mr Jim Wallace: I met with European Commissioner Barnier in November 2003. One of the issues we discussed was the Commission’s emerging thinking on the future of the Structural Funds. The Commission’s proposals were published in the form of draft regulations in July 2004.

  Negotiations on the future of regional funding are a reserved issue. The Executive liaises closely with the UK Government to ensure that Scottish concerns are taken on board in the negotiations. This is done through regular meetings between officials in the devolved administrations and the UK Government These meetings agree UK negotiating lines that are used in the European Council’s Structural Actions Working Group meetings. The Scottish Executive shares a place in the UK delegation for those meetings with the other devolved administrations.

European Union

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-12692 by Peter Peacock on 14 December 2004, what information it has on whether its recommendation to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office that the guide should be translated into Gaelic has been implemented and whether the guide will be translated into Scots.

Peter Peacock: Discussions between the Scottish Executive and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office about the UK Government’s plans for translating the Guide to the European Union have not yet been concluded.

Fisheries

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the conclusions of the strategic review of inshore fisheries will be made available.

Ross Finnie: I have today published a Strategic Framework for Inshore Fisheries in Scotland. The framework presents the conclusions of the strategic review of inshore fisheries and provides a direction for inshore fisheries management which balances biological, economic, environmental and social considerations. It also introduces a management structure which places fishermen and other stakeholders at the heart of the decision-making process.

  I wrote to the Environment and Rural Development Committee earlier this week to explain some of the key elements of the Strategic Framework for Inshore Fisheries in more detail. Copies of the framework document have been placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 35721).

G8 Summit

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what influence or direct input it will have on the European Council’s contribution to the G8 summit’s discussions on the Africa Action Plan in respect of increasing agricultural productivity.

Patricia Ferguson: I refer the member to the question S2W-14872, answered on 14 March 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Housing

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what its views are on the model of housing development known as "cohousing".

Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has examined the potential benefits to communities of promoting cohousing as a model for housing and community development and, if not, whether it will consider doing so.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Executive has previously examined the concept of cohousing as a model for housing and community development. While we do not consider the model as a whole is appropriate for promotion, we recognise that the concept has many positive elements, in terms of resident participation, community development, physical design and environmental sustainability - elements which have featured in different combinations in different housing developments in Scotland.

Housing

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will ensure that the affordability of homes is not adversely affected by any decision to pass the cost of connection to the water and sewerage network to developers and whether it will provide details of any such proposed decision.

Lewis Macdonald: In my statement on 9 February in Parliament, I outlined our objectives for Scottish Water’s next investment programme.

  My announcement noted that funding of £14 million would be made available in each year of the next investment programme specifically to reflect the cost of local water and sewerage infrastructure required by affordable housing projects developed by registered social landlords.

  The Minister for Communities made an announcement on the 8 March giving details of the plans for affordable housing in Scotland.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the advantages and disadvantages of the single seller survey are, based on research into the 74 cases in the pilot study.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Housing Improvement Task Force identified advantages of a single survey in three areas. Firstly, it will provide home sellers and prospective buyers with better information on property condition, to provide a mechanism to address disrepair in the privately owned housing stock. Secondly, it will remove the need for prospective buyers to pay for multiple condition surveys. Thirdly, it will discourage the setting of artificially low upset prices. The evaluation of the pilot will provide further information to inform the design of the final scheme.

Housing

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the appraisal and analysis of the research into the 74 single seller surveys included in the pilot study into such surveys.

Malcolm Chisholm: Yes. A report will be published once the evaluation of the pilot has been completed.

Housing

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many properties have become tenanted under the mortgage to rent scheme in each year since the scheme was introduced, broken down by local authority area.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Since the launch of the mortgage to rent scheme in February 2002, a total of 126 households across 25 local authority areas have avoided homelessness through the scheme. In the first year of the scheme, 2003-04, 46 cases settled and to date in 2004-05, 80 cases have completed. Of these cases, 12 have been purchased by a council landlord, with the remaining 114 purchased by a registered social landlord.

  The breakdown for all settled cases by local authority area is as follows:

  

Local Authority
No of cases


Aberdeen City
8


Aberdeenshire
4


Angus
1


Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar
1


Dumfries and Galloway
4


Dundee City
1


East Dunbartonshire
3


East Lothian
2


Edinburgh City
4


Falkirk
1


Fife
10


Glasgow City
1


Highland
5


Inverclyde
1


Midlothian
3


North Ayrshire
20


North Lanarkshire
14


Orkney Islands
1


Perth and Kinross
2


Renfrewshire
5


South Ayrshire
4


South Lanarkshire
18


Stirling
3


West Dunbartonshire
3


West Lothian
7


Total Settled cases
126

Mental Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-30484 by Mr Jim Wallace on 28 October 2002, how many guardianships have been (a) applied for and (b) awarded under vulnerable adults’ procedures in each year since 2002-03, broken down by local authority.

Hugh Henry: Figures provided by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), indicate that the number of guardianship orders (a) applied for and (b) awarded under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 for each year since 2002-03, broken down by local authority are as follows:

  2002-03

  

 
Guardianships Applied For
Guardianships Granted


Welfare
Financial
Combined
Welfare
Financial
Combined


Aberdeen City
19
5
4
16
3
2


Aberdeenshire
9
6
5
4
3
1


Angus
5
2
1
4
2
0


Argyll and Bute
11
2
2
9
0
1


City of Edinburgh
20
10
7
10
5
5


Clackmannanshire
2
1
1
1
0
0


Dumfries and Galloway
8
5
1
7
3
1


Dundee City
4
7
1
3
4
0


East Ayrshire
5
3
2
4
1
1


East Dunbartonshire
7
5
2
0
2
0


East Lothian
7
6
1
5
0
0


East Renfrewshire
3
2
1
0
1
1


Eilean Siar
3
1
2
1
0
1


Falkirk
8
4
2
7
2
0


Fife
17
7
6
6
4
2


Glasgow City
25
7
4
17
2
2


Highland
36
9
4
29
3
0


Inverclyde
4
1
2
0
1
2


Midlothian
1
1
0
1
0
0


Moray
12
9
3
7
1
0


North Ayrshire
9
2
2
6
1
0


North Lanarkshire
6
7
3
6
2
0


Orkney Islands
1
0
1
0
1
0


Perth and Kinross
19
4
1
18
2
0


Renfrewshire
8
1
7
0
0
3


Scottish Borders
6
2
2
4
0
2


Shetland Islands
1
1
0
1
0
0


South Ayrshire
4
4
5
3
1
1


South Lanarkshire
10
11
2
7
4
1


Stirling
8
5
3
5
1
0


West Dunbartonshire
7
6
1
2
0
1


West Lothian
30
1
2
25
1
1


Grand Total
286
114
72
208
50
28



  2003-04

  

 
Guardianships Applied For
Guardianships Granted


Welfare
Financial
Combined
Welfare
Financial
Combined


Aberdeen City
19
8
2
16
8
3


Aberdeenshire
11
10
6
13
10
5


Angus
13
2
7
12
1
7


Argyll and Bute
14
3
5
12
4
5


City of Edinburgh
19
24
17
22
24
13


Clackmannanshire
6
0
6
0
4
0


Dumfries and Galloway
12
15
2
10
12
0


Dundee City
5
5
2
5
7
2


East Ayrshire
5
3
1
5
4
0


East Dunbartonshire
2
3
5
2
5
5


East Lothian
6
3
2
4
2
2


East Renfrewshire
4
1
2
4
2
2


Eilean Siar
2
1
1
1
1
1


Falkirk
3
5
1
4
6
2


Fife
27
23
12
21
19
11


Glasgow City
14
18
5
17
19
6


Highland
26
9
11
26
12
9


Inverclyde
4
4
2
4
2
2


Midlothian
2
5
3
1
4
2


Moray
4
3
1
5
5
0


North Ayrshire
10
5
4
13
4
5


North Lanarkshire
13
12
8
7
15
4


Orkney Islands
1
0
1
0
1
0


Perth and Kinross
16
6
2
12
5
3


Renfrewshire
2
4
5
3
3
8


Scottish Borders
17
10
7
12
1
5


Shetland Islands
0
0
0
0
0
0


South Ayrshire
5
12
9
4
9
10


South Lanarkshire
13
17
22
10
16
5


Stirling
6
4
2
0
3
0


West Dunbartonshire
10
3
7
6
6
0


West Lothian
32
5
4
26
3
3


Grand Total
296
224
150
277
217
120



  1 April 2004 to 31 December 2004

  

 
Guardianships Applied For
Guardianships Granted


Welfare
Financial
Combined
Welfare
Financial
Combined


Aberdeen City
20
9
9
18
8
6


Aberdeenshire
13
18
11
10
17
9


Angus
10
1
7
7
1
6


Argyll and Bute
17
4
5
18
2
5


City of Edinburgh
18
24
18
18
19
16


Clackmannanshire
2
6
4
2
5
4


Dumfries and Galloway
20
8
1
16
3
2


Dundee City
7
11
2
4
5
2


East Ayrshire
4
2
2
1
1
1


East Dunbartonshire
2
2
3
1
2
5


East Lothian
6
3
3
1
4
1


East Renfrewshire
3
1
2
0
1
1


Eilean Siar
3
1
2
1
0
2


Falkirk
14
10
4
8
4
0


Fife
25
19
12
23
19
12


Glasgow City
26
18
11
17
11
7


Highland
20
8
6
19
5
6


Inverclyde
4
1
3
1
3
0


Midlothian
6
3
3
2
2
1


Moray
3
2
6
3
2
3


North Ayrshire
14
4
6
13
4
5


North Lanarkshire
17
10
10
16
4
8


Orkney Islands
3
0
3
0
1
0


Perth and Kinross
13
9
4
12
3
4


Renfrewshire
4
2
6
3
1
4


Scottish Borders
9
6
3
5
2
2


Shetland Islands
9
3
6
3
0
3


South Ayrshire
8
7
1
8
9
1


South Lanarkshire
13
16
20
13
14
31


Stirling
7
3
4
6
3
4


West Dunbartonshire
2
1
1
0
1
0


West Lothian
13
3
2
17
1
2


Grand Total
298
201
164
266
157
153



  Note: The totals in the local authority breakdown tables will not necessarily reflect the total number of orders applied for and granted. This is because there may be orders in respect of adults who have property in Scotland but who reside elsewhere which are not attributed to a local authority area.

Planning

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will consider as part of its planning reform restrictions on new housing developments in the vicinity of airport runways and areas where overflying routinely happens at less than 1,500 feet by aircraft taking off and landing.

Johann Lamont: Circular 8/2002: Control of Development in Airport Public Safety Zones already contains a general presumption against new or replacement development, or changes of use of existing buildings, within Public Safety Zones, such as the ones at Aberdeen airport. In particular, no new or replacement dwelling houses, mobile homes, caravan sites or other residential buildings should be permitted.

  Circular 10/1999 Planning and Noise contains the Executive’s general policy on this issue. Additional advice on the impact of aircraft noise is provided for Scottish local authorities in Planning Advice Note: PAN 56 Planning and Noise, issued in 1999. This sets out recommended noise exposure categories when assessing the suitability of new residential development near to existing transport related noise sources, including airports. These range from noise levels where noise need not be considered as a determining factor in granting planning permission to where planning permission should generally be refused. 

  The Executive has no plans at present to review these documents.

  Copies of Circulars 10/1999, 8/2002 and PAN 56 are available in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. numbers 34898, 24687 and 1153 respectively).

Population

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress it has made in the reorganisation of Friends of Scotland and GlobalScot in order to encourage members of the Scottish diaspora to live and work in Scotland.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Friends of Scotland project has been renamed "Global Friends of Scotland" and maintains regular contacts, both formal and informal, with the GlobalScot team in Scottish Enterprise.

  Both Global Friends and GlobalScot continue in their efforts to enable members of these networks to contribute to Scotland’s global success wherever they are based around the world. The projects maintain close links with the Fresh Talent initiative and where appropriate make members aware of employment opportunities in Scotland.

Population

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what specific measures it has used to encourage expatriate Scots to return to Scotland to live and work and what funding has been provided in relation to any such measures.

Mr Tom McCabe: Fresh Talent has identified returning Scots as a particular target group who could make an important contribution to Scotland’s economic and social future. We are therefore taking forward promotional activities to encourage such individuals to consider returning to Scotland. The Relocation Advisory Service is also available to assist returning Scots in making the move back to Scotland.

Special Areas of Conservation

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the network of wildlife conservation sites identified under the EC Habitats Directive will be formally designated as Special Areas of Conservation.

Lewis Macdonald: We formally designated, on 17 March 2005, all 238 of the sites in Scotland that have been identified under the EC Habitats Directive. This represents a significant milestone in the protection of Scotland’s important habitats and species, with approaching one million hectares now formally designated as Special Areas of Conservation.

Special Educational Needs

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25669 by Cathy Jamieson on 21 May 2002, how many enquiries have been received by Enquire in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04 and (c) 2004-05.

Peter Peacock: Enquire received (a) 2,516 enquiries in 2002-03; (b) 3,064 enquiries in 2003-04, and (c) 2,291 enquiries between April 2004 and January 2005 (figures for February to March 2005 are not yet available).

Special Educational Needs

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-25670 by Cathy Jamieson on 21 May 2002, how much public funding Enquire received in (a) 2002-03, (b) 2003-04 and (c) 2004-05 and how much it is projected to receive in future.

Peter Peacock: Enquire received (a) £254,421 in 2002-03; (b) £321,963 in 2003-04, and (c) will have received £367,361 between April 2004 and March 2005. The agreed grant for 2005-06 is £326, 951. No decisions have been taken on funding beyond 2005-06.

Teacher Training

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-14362 by Peter Peacock on 4 March 2005, what monitoring is in place to ensure that management of student placements is undertaken equitably across Scotland to the benefit of students, pupils and qualified staff.

Peter Peacock: Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) are currently undertaking an Aspect Review of Initial Teacher Education (ARITE) which focuses on the management of student placements across Scotland.

  HMIE are also examining the quality and standard of student tuition offered by the Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) local authorities and their schools. Findings from the Review are expected to be published in July 2005.

  In April this year, Scottish Executive Education Department will be asking local authorities and TEIs to submit reports on their roles within the Student Placement Scheme and how local authorities utilised the funding paid from the Executive in 2004-05.

Teacher Training

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what arrangements are in place to ensure that those undertaking training as primary teachers are provided with teaching resources whilst on placement in order to plan and teach.

Peter Peacock: It is for each of the Teacher Education Institutions, together with local authorities and their partner schools, to arrange and provide the appropriate teaching resources for students undertaking school placements in primary schools.

Teachers

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many chartered teachers will have qualified by 31 March 2005.

Peter Peacock: As at 8 March 2005, 56 teachers had attained the Standard for Chartered Teacher. A further meeting of the National Assessment Panel for Chartered Teacher was scheduled for 17 March. Once I have received information from the panel I will write to you with a further update on numbers.

Teachers

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of chartered teachers have qualified while full-time (a) primary and (b) secondary classroom teachers.

Peter Peacock: As at 8 March 2005, 56 teachers had attained the Standard for Chartered Teacher. Of these 26 (46%) were from the secondary sector and 30 (54%) were from the primary sector. We do not hold information on the working patterns of these teachers.

Teachers

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of qualified chartered teachers are (a) learning support and (b) behaviour support teachers.

Peter Peacock: This information is not held centrally.

Teachers

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of chartered teachers who have qualified were seconded to undertake the Chartered Teachers programme.

Peter Peacock: Teachers are not seconded from their normal duties to undertake the Chartered Teacher programme. Whether teachers are pursuing the programme route or the accreditation route, they are expected to do so in their own time.

Teachers

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) primary school teachers were on permanent contracts and (b) unfilled primary schoolteacher vacancies there were in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority.

Peter Peacock: The estimated number full-time equivalent (FTE) teachers on permanent and temporary contracts in 1998 is given in the table below.

  Data for 2003 is published in Teachers in Scotland, 2003, which is available on the Executive’s website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/bulletins/00352-00.asp or in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 33785).

  Data for other years is not available.

  Estimated FTE of Teachers, by Mode of Employment, 1998

  

Local Authority
Permanent
Temporary


Aberdeen City
1,652
147


Aberdeenshire
2,173
183


Angus
1,008
67


Argyll and Bute
805
97


Clackmannanshire
430
26


Dumfries and Galloway
1,413
114


Dundee City
1,317
85


East Ayrshire
1,030
123


East Dunbartonshire
1,012
126


East Lothian
716
56


East Renfrewshire
787
108


Edinburgh, City of
2,874
226


Eilean Siar
372
39


Falkirk
1,254
71


Fife
3,263
200


Glasgow City
4,559
502


Highland
2,287
97


Inverclyde
745
90


Midlothian
770
53


Moray
817
83


North Ayrshire
1,198
110


North Lanarkshire
2,961
382


Orkney Islands
245
21


Perth and Kinross
1,127
81


Renfrewshire
1,485
155


Scottish Borders
981
66


Shetland Islands
371
22


South Ayrshire
926
116


South Lanarkshire
2,620
302


Stirling
774
55


West Dunbartonshire
869
109


West Lothian
1,443
90



  The available information on teacher vacancies by local authority is in a set of tables Full-time Equivalent Teacher Vacancies in Schools which is in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib. number 32903). The latest information available, at February 2004, shows the number of vacancies is around 1.6% of the total numbers of teachers.

Teachers

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average length of career was for teachers retiring from the profession and what percentage of teachers retired in each year since 1997, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: From the Teacher Flow survey which is part of the annual teacher workforce planning exercise it is possible to estimate the average length of service of teachers retiring. This is based on the last registration date with the General Teaching Council for Scotland of such teachers. It does not take account of possible career breaks. On this basis the average length of service is set out below for the financial years concerned.

  Average Number of Years from Latest Date of Registration to Retiral -Includes Age Retirement, Early Retirement and Ill Health Retirement

  

 
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03


Aberdeen City
33
32
33


Aberdeenshire
32
34
35


Angus
33
30
33


Argyll and Bute
32
34
36


Clackmannanshire
30
34
36


Dumfries and Galloway
30
31
32


Dundee City
33
34
34


East Ayrshire
32
33
36


East Dunbartonshire
23
34
34


East Lothian
33
34
28


East Renfrewshire
34
33
32


Edinburgh City of
32
33
31


Eilean Siar
35
35
32


Falkirk
33
32
34


Fife
32
33
32


Glasgow City
31
29
33


Highland
31
35
35


Inverclyde
31
-
32


Midlothian
34
35
31


Moray
31
33
35


North Ayrshire
34
32
32


North Lanarkshire
31
31
34


Orkney Islands
38
33
28


Perth and Kinross
27
34
34


Renfrewshire
31
32
35


Scottish Borders
35
33
31


Shetland Islands
32
29
32


South Ayrshire
29
31
33


South Lanarkshire
30
32
31


Stirling
30
29
34


West Dunbartonshire
30
33
32


West Lothian
28
33
34



  Information on the percentage of teachers retiring by local authority since 1997 is set out in the following table.

  Percentage of School Teachers Retiring - Includes Age Retirement, Early Retirement ad Ill Health Retirement

  

 
1996-97
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
2000-01
2001-02
2002-03


Aberdeen City
7%
2%
1%
2%
1%
2%
3%


Aberdeenshire
5%
1%
1%
5%
1%
1%
2%


Angus
5%
3%
2%
2%
2%
2%
4%


Argyll and Bute
4%
1%
1%
1%
1%
2%
2%


Clackmannanshire
8%
1%
1%
2%
2%
3%
2%


Dumfries and Galloway
3%
1%
1%
2%
1%
3%
2%


Dundee City
7%
2%
2%
1%
1%
3%
2%


East Ayrshire
2%
2%
2%
3%
2%
3%
4%


East Dunbartonshire
5%
1%
2%
2%
1%
1%
1%


East Lothian
6%
0%
1%
2%
2%
2%
0%


East Renfrewshire
4%
1%
2%
1%
2%
2%
2%


Edinburgh, City of
3%
2%
1%
2%
1%
1%
2%


Eilean Siar
5%
2%
2%
1%
2%
1%
4%


Falkirk
7%
1%
1%
2%
1%
2%
4%


Fife
5%
1%
1%
2%
3%
3%
3%


Glasgow City
6%
1%
1%
1%
1%
2%
1%


Highland
8%
1%
2%
2%
1%
2%
2%


Inverclyde
1%
0%
1%
1%
1%
0%
1%


Midlothian
4%
2%
1%
1%
1%
1%
3%


Moray
5%
2%
2%
3%
2%
3%
3%


North Ayrshire
2%
2%
2%
2%
1%
3%
1%


North Lanarkshire
3%
2%
2%
3%
2%
2%
3%


Orkney Islands
7%
2%
1%
0%
0%
1%
5%


Perth and Kinross
7%
2%
1%
2%
1%
0%
2%


Renfrewshire
3%
1%
1%
1%
2%
5%
1%


Scottish Borders
7%
1%
0%
2%
1%
1%
2%


Shetland Islands
3%
1%
2%
4%
2%
2%
4%


South Ayrshire
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
2%
1%


South Lanarkshire
8%
1%
1%
3%
1%
1%
8%


Stirling
6%
3%
1%
4%
2%
1%
2%


West Dunbartonshire
6%
1%
1%
2%
2%
2%
2%


West Lothian
3%
1%
1%
2%
1%
2%
3%

Tourism

Christine May (Central Fife) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made on restructuring the tourism network.

Patricia Ferguson: Our decision to restructure VisitScotland and the area tourist boards (ATB) to form an integrated tourism network was announced to Parliament a year ago. That decision was in part based on the results of a consultation exercise which showed widespread support for such integration of support for the tourism sector.

  The project to plan, implement and deliver an integrated network has been hugely challenging, depending on crucially important input from ATB and VisitScotland staff, and also from local authorities and the private sector. It is a testimony to their hard work that the project has remained substantially on schedule. There has also been very successful consultation with COSLA and individual local authorities about the continuance of their financial support for tourism at the area level.

  It is the staff of the new network who will be the key to its success. On 31 January, VisitScotland issued to all ATB and VisitScotland staff a proposed organisational structure for the network showing the number and type of posts in each area office. Many staff (for example all staff in the tourism information centres) will transfer across to the VisitScotland network in their current jobs on 1 April. For the others, their jobs are the subject of a very careful matching process to ensure that the skills and experience available across the organisation are used to best effect. It is anticipated that all but a very few of the 1,065 staff in post across the ATBs and VisitScotland will find jobs in the new network.

  A project transition budget of £7 million over two years has been made available to VisitScotland to cover the costs of implementing the integrated network, and to cover the expected deficit in network operations in 2005-06. Once anticipated efficiency savings are realised in the course of 2005-06, the network is expected to be financially viable from 2007 onwards. A business plan has been produced by VisitScotland, and will be finalised as soon as possible.

  At the beginning of March, VisitScotland launched their marketing opportunities portfolio for 2006, including the area marketing brochures which have always been available. Tourism and related businesses can purchase a range of marketing and other products from that portfolio from any office across the tourism network, but each business will have a local business relationship manager to look after their requirements. VisitScotland are have now also launched their City Breaks campaign for the UK which promotes the opportunities in Scotland to experience the best of both city and rural attractions in a single short break.

  An operational integrated network delivering all of these services and more will be in place from April, working closely with partners including tourism businesses, local authorities and the Enterprise Networks. That ethos of partnership is being exemplified through the development of area tourism partnerships, many of which are already up and running. Substantial local authority funding has been secured for 2005-06 to support the development of area tourism partnership plans, which will form the basis for the growth of tourism in each area of Scotland.

  Across the tourism network itself, further development work, for example on a fully fledged customer relationship management system, will be carried out over the course of the next year. The objective is to have a fully functional integrated tourism network in operation by April 2006, in order to support the continued strong growth of the businesses which make up one of Scotland’s most important sectors.